Babyfxce E stepped onto the stage of a Detroit strip club for his debut performance, nerves coursing through him. As dollar bills flew through the air, the Flint, Mich. native, who was 18 at the time and barely old enough to be inside the venue, did his best to deliver one of the few unreleased songs he had in his arsenal. “I was so stiff,” he recalls of that night four years ago. “It was a*s everywhere. The song was sped up, and there was a lot going on. But it was cool after I finished. I needed to get that feeling out. I still had a good time.”
Since then, Babyfxce E, 23, has stepped up his game. He’s been on three tours—serving as direct support for Babyface Ray, BabyTron and Luh Tyler—and in 2024 signed a deal with Atlantic Records. Songs like “PTP” and “Flint Flow” pair E’s lyrical dexterity with Detroit’s distinctive trap sound, defined by a new generation of rappers like Ray, 42 Dugg and Rio Da Yung OG. E is carrying the torch now.
Born Efrem Blackwell in 2002, Babyfxce E grew up in Flint, Mich., shooting hoops with his friends and running around the local parks. As he got older, he found himself getting bored. “There really wasn’t too much to do out here,” he reflects. “People just go outside and party all day.” Fortunately, he found music could fill the void. While many aspiring rappers came up surrounded by the sounds of rap, E has a different story.
“I didn’t really start listening to music until I was 12 or 13,” he explains. “Maybe like seventh or eighth grade, that’s when I really started listening. Cash Kidd was really one of the first Detroit artists I got into. I messed with his music.”
Then came hip-hop from outside the city. “My brother listened to 21 Savage a lot when he was coming up,” E recalls. “That’s when I graduated middle school. Back then, I was still hearing Drake and Lil Wayne, too, but 21 Savage was a big new name for me.”
With the spark lit, Babyfxce E started spitting freestyles and writing lyrics in a notebook, but “it was just for fun.” After graduating from Atherton High School in Michigan, he eventually took his talents to the studio and, with the encouragement of those around him, his career began to ascend.
“My friends and I would hit the studio just messing around, but people told me I was good, so we just kept at it,” he says. “When I decided to take it more seriously, I started looking at who else was doing it big in the city. There were some local inspirations who made it seem possible.” E names Rio Da Yung OG, who was “doing rap at a bigger scale” around Flint.
In 2021, Babyfxce E’s friend set up his first studio session, and E started recording solo singles before finally investing in his own studio equipment and recording himself. “I didn’t feel nervous,” he explains. “I wasn’t even a rapper yet, so it wasn’t a lot of pressure for real. But at a certain point, when the music started getting serious, I was being a perfectionist. When I say I took a long time rapping, it wasn’t because I didn’t know what to say. I was trying to figure out how should I say it. Should I do it like this? Trying to make my bars clever and sh*t.”
Babyfxce E’s first single was 2021’s “Invest,” which was quickly followed by “Reaper,” although they didn’t get much traction. But roughly a year later, he dropped “D Rose” and caught the attention of several labels. The ensuing success of “Broad Day,” released in 2022, only intensified label interest behind the scenes. After months of meetings, he ultimately landed at Atlantic Records.
“Alamo was first, but I went to a bunch of label meetings,” E remembers. “Then after that I went to Simply Stupid, and then labels were coming back-to-back, but I didn’t sign for eight months. My manager, Andre [Hopson], knew people at Atlantic. He had worked there.”
It didn’t hurt that Atlantic Records SVP of A&R, Dallas Martin, is also from Flint, and their connection was immediate. “One of the head A&Rs there was from Flint, too, so it was kind of like a bridge right there,” E tells. “Everything was feeling genuine, and the deal was good, so I felt comfortable with it.”
Music executive and talent manager Andre Hopson, founder of production and marketing agency HighRes Global, co-manages Babyfxce E with E’s older brother Jamaar Blackwell. Hopson was immediately impressed with E’s skills. “I was introduced by a mutual friend, a producer, around the time ‘Broad Day’ was getting big,” Hopson confirms. “His brother was managing him but needed help navigating label talks. After getting to know each other, we started taking meetings together, and it quickly became a bigger operation as E’s songs gained more and more traction.”
Being signed to a major but still having the ability to move as an independent entity by being able to drop with continuity and fluidity was important for E’s art, which the label respected. “Atlantic has been good to us,” Hopson adds. “Dallas Martin was passionate about signing someone from the city. When I brought E to him, he knew he was the one. The personal connection made a big difference, and the deal was the best move for E’s career.”
Looking ahead, Babyfxce E plans to continue dropping singles throughout the rest of 2025. One of his most recent, “Cut the Block Off,” arrived in August and is another example of his syrupy flow, penchant for braggadocious lyrics, hard beats, and an appreciation for his newfound lifestyle. He also dropped “What Bag I’m in” in September and “Real Talk” a month later. Still early in the game, he recognizes his style may evolve over the years, but for now, he’s simply having fun.
“When I be rapping, it’s really just to be a mirror of what be going on at the time,” he notes. “So, the more I elevate up, I’m going to be seeing different stuff, and it’s just going to force my music to change because I’m a reality rapper.”
For now, he’s focused on hitting the studio daily to finish his debut album, which is expected to arrive early next year. “I got a lot of music,” he shares. “I am just getting a feel for it. I wanna get Hurricane Wisdom and Babyface Ray on it. I’m really looking forward to the album, honestly. That’s really what I want to do. Get that out and see what that do.”
Listen to Babyfxce E’s M Block Deluxe Album
The fall 2025 issue of XXL magazine featuring Babyfxce E’s interview is available to purchase here. The issue also includes Joey Bada$$ and J.I.D’s cover story interviews, conversations with Hit-Boy, Chance The Rapper, Rob49, KenTheMan, Bay Swag, Curren$y, Wallo267, Hurricane Wisdom, Hanumankind, Ghostface Killah, Conway The Machine, Pluto, TiaCorine, singer Isaiah Falls, comedian Josh Joshson, Vice President of Music at SiriusXM and Pandora Joshua “J1” Raiford, a look at the change in album rollouts over the years highlighted by Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out album and more.